At this point, we've all heard of T-Mobile's JUMP! program, designed to let customers upgrade smartphones up to twice-yearly. And not to be outdone by T-Mo, AT&T announced its variant of the plan, dubbed Next. Of course, Verizon has its own thing going on, too – Edge. Up to this point, we've only seen leaks that allude to Edge's existence, but Big Red finally took the wraps off and made it official this morning.

Here's the basic gist: when you buy a phone on Edge, you won't need to sign a contract – it's a month-to-month deal. The full retail price of the phone will then be divided up over a 24 month period (you know, it's kind of like a two-year contract), so you'll effectively be financing your phone through Verizon, sans-interest, of course. If, however, you want to upgrade after six months, you can do so as long as 50% of the retail price is paid off. Naturally, you have to trade your phone in to do so, and the payments start all over.

Math time! Let's say you want a Galaxy S 4 on Big Red. The retail price is $650, so spread out over 24 months, that's roughly $27/mo. In order to get a new phone after six months, however, you'll need at least $325 of the GS4's price paid off – so that's more like $55-60 a month. Of course, if you just wait a full year to upgrade (and don't mind trading in your old phone), then you can stick with $27 monthly and still get a new phone after 12 months of payments.

But there's still the question of what happens if the device gets broken or damaged – will insurance cover it? Is insurance even offered on Edge? Are you just completely out of luck? Unfortunately, Verizon is being coy about how things like that will work, so be sure to probe the sales associate if you decide to make the jump (get it?) over to Edge, which will be available beginning August 25th.

Even if they voided your unlimited plan for unlocking your phone which I havent seen online that this is a big problem when you unlock your phone they don't know unless you take your phone in for service. This shouldn't be a problem. My friend has been unlocking his phone for years and still has unlimited. Unlocking bootloader is forbidden not due to a specific plan but due to companies not liking that you do it. Its not illegal just not liked.

Michael Pahl

thats not at all what i meant.... see unlocking bootloaders voids the warranty. how could you trade in a phone with voided warranty???

kmword

If you have big red with the unlimited plan just opened up a second plan use it fo a internet wireless unlimited pervider duy old droid phone root it and use it for your Internet access 200 vs a month.Screw all of them

Mike Harris

I have a couple questions.

1) I'm assuming I get to keep my phone if it's 100% paid off, so let's say I do that in less than six months. Do I still have to wait until the 6-month mark before I'm allowed to upgrade?

2) Since the cost of the phone is being separated out from the service charge (i.e. our monthly rate would no longer include the subsidized phone cost automatically), does that mean the monthly rate would be less on the Edge plan?

I'm one of those customers who still has VZW's grandfathered unlimited data, because my contract ended almost two years ago and I paid full retail to upgrade to my GSIII last year. I guess what I'm trying to figure out is if there's any difference between this Edge plan and what I'm doing right now (and intend to keep doing so I can keep my unlimited data). If it's the same thing, will VZW consider me being on their Edge plan once it rolls out, or will I still be in a special category?

taxi333

I'm with you, grandfathered unlimited data :D (the only reason that I'm still with big red u.u )

solbin

I don't see any reason why you would have to wait if your phone is paid off. But who knows. It's not costing Verizon anything if your phone is paid off, and it would actually be beneficial to them because it would essentially lock you in for another 6-24 months..

I wouldn't count on the monthly rate of Edge being discounted. You are still paying the subsidized rate even after a phone is paid off or you bring your own phone, so I don't see why it would be different in this situation.

Since you already have an unlimited plan, this new plan doesn't really do much (and I personally wouldn't make any unnecessary changes that might potentially forfeit your unlimited data). You could always buy a phone off of amazon, or anyone else who offers 6-12 months no interest financing, and it would be essentially the same thing as Verizon is offering.

Mike Harris

I completely agree there's potential for them to make more money if they allow you to upgrade before 6 months if you've already paid off the phone cost. However, when things like this are pushed out so fast, it's the minor details that are overlooked.

PhoenixPath

From their announcement:

"available to customers on Share Everything plans starting August 25th"

Implying it will not be available to anyone *not* on such a contract-plan. This is how I assume they will eventually rid themselves of all those still hanging on to unlimited data.

KristinA

How can it be Share everything when i don't have any other devices to share with?

Unlimited Data grandfathered :) . I still have the Moto Bionic (ikr). Im so nervous about switching my phone.

Casey Kline

Don't be nervous. As long as you don't buy the phone on subsidy (Buy it retail or ebay) verizon cant say anything. Multiple reps have told me you can activate any device you want on your line you want. I can switch from my gs4 back to a GNex if i want, and all i gotta do is slip the sim card in. Also, if you buy a phone and the sim's are incompatible they WILL give you anew one and set it up for FREE. do not let them charge for it. If they try, call customer support. Customer support loves screwing in-store reps over when they try to scam people.

There is nothing in there about needing to be on share everything, the only difference is that is 12 months versus 24 and you have a $2 finance charge during the payment period.

yankeesusa

And again, tmobile beats all of them. I will stick with tmobile. Just get my phone on swappa or ebay or even craigslist then activate it on tmobile. And for those times that I may be out of money, then there is Jump which is not a bad deal at all compared to next and edge.

Ashish

T-Mobile might win on the price end, but running a used phone on T-Mobile is like playing Russian roulette. If person A buys a subsidized phone on T-Mobile then decides to sell it to person B without fulfilling their T-Mobile commitment Person B gets screwed with a phone that is blacklisted. While Person A makes out like a bandit. This blacklist can happens weeks or months after Person B has bought the phone. Yup, T-Mobile really caring for their customers.

yankeesusa

Yes but that goes with every used phone. Att is the same thing. And sprint and verizon almost the same thing. That's why you buy your phone from swappa which guarantees your phone to not be blacklisted and people should be smart when buying a used phone. Check with the respective company. And even if the phone takes weeks to go on the blacklist site if it is currently attached to a contract you will know immediately. In my 8 plus years of buying used phones I have never had that issue since I research the phone I'm buying before paying any money for it. That should not be a reason why not to go with tmobile. If thats a fear of you then do the monthly payment option and get a new phone. Plus, soon tmobile is going to be selling refurbs.

Ashish

Actually, Verizon and sprint don't so this. Sprint is still old school that they require you to call and get the phone transfered to your line. Verizon is pop in your sim and you're golden. It could get reported lost, but I don't think they blacklist for non-payment. I'm not sure about AT&T. T-Mobile has a horrible system in that regard. Craigslist is littered with brand new t-mobile phones that will probably get sold and not get paid off, hence get blacklisted eventually. . These new plans by AT&T and Verizon will also make this type of theft much easier if people don't care about their credit. In the light of all this Sprint's system does the best job of protecting the buyer, even if it's inconvenient because you have to call customer service. .

yankeesusa

First things first. Verizon may use a sim card but only for lte. You can't just get a phone and pop your SIM card like on gsm phones. And with Sprint the esn of phone will tell them instantlyif phone is attached to an account, stolen or if it's clear activate. Its not like gsm phones that could take days before its blacklisted. Also, if a phone with tmobile is on a payment plan theimei will be registered as active on an account. So if your buying a phone from tmobile you can confirm with tmobile before buying. All I know is that if you are afraid of buying a stolen phone or a phone that is blacklisted then don't buy it on craigslist. Buy on swappa which they guarantee will work. Or even eBay. Just make sure that the auction states the phone is not stolen or blacklisted. If it's stated then your covered by eBay buyer protection. In the end it's all about being a smart consumer. I've never had an issue in all the years of buying used phones.

Ashish

I've never had issues either. Maybe cause I only buy Verizon phones. Calling T-Mobile to verify if its on a payment plan is almost mandatory now. Swappa/Ebay won't protect you from this scam either, unless you call T-Mobile for these types of purchases also. Ebay guarantees for 30 days. Sell on ebay, pay my bill for only one more month, and boom back to square one. Rinse and repeat.

jeffrey beck

A phone can only be reported stolen and blacklisted within 30 days of its last registration on the account of the original owner. After that you are free and clear. Still, buying new phones carries a risk.

Ashish

I'm not talking about lost and stolen blacklisting.

Richard Yarrell

Verizon sucks monkey balls period.

RaptorOO7

Anyone who takes these scammers, errr Carriers up on these "offers" needs to be admitted into a psych ward, or declared mentally incompetent. This is a total rip-off you will be paying twice for the phone and you are getting bent over.

So save you money over 12 months and pay for the new phone with cash and sell your old phone.